“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”(1 Timothy 6:9-10)
Truth be told, money is good! We need money to make things happen. No matter how promising your dreams, visions, and aspirations in life are, you need money to actualize them. Without money, dreams will not come to pass. That is because most of the resources, human, and material, we need to actualize our plans are impossible to get without money. It takes money to build a company. It also takes money to run it.
Money is such an important commodity that life would not be that sweet without it. As a Pastor, I need a lot of money to do the work God has assigned to me. In this time of technology, evangelism has become more effective than in the olden days. This is because men of God can easily reach millions of people through the electronic media in a matter of minutes and hours. Television, radion, the internet have all become means of reaching out to millions of people with the word of God. However, none of the above can be achieved without money. Media houses charge money for every service they render to the public, including men of God who use their platforms to spread the word of God.
The Holy Spirit has endowed me with many gifting. I am a teacher of the word, writer, song minister, faith healer, film producer, actor and more. All can become channels to win souls for Christ. However, I need money to put all of them to proper use.
When recorded in the studio and released for public consumption, my songs and movies can reach millions of people and win souls for Christ. I have published a couple of movies, written and produced by myself. It took a lot of money to achieve that. If there was no money to produce them, the stories will still be inside me and will benefit no one.
Once upon a time, I preached on radio. My message transformed many lives and brought some people to our church. God has used me to transform the lives of many who followed me on radio. Those who came to our church through the radio broadcast have equally become useful vessels in the house of God. One of them is our current women’s leader and my personal adviser. In fact, the Holy Spirit says she is my mother and I am glad to treat her in the manner. The other one, also an elderly woman is a counsellor. We call her “grandma”. She is 73 years old. Those two have brought other people to the church as well. All of that could not have been possible if our church did not have money to pay for air time on radio. That is the power of money. Without it, it would be difficult to fulfill most of our desires, including soul winning. Money is important. No one should discourage you from making money.
However, let us know that despite how good and important money is, it has its limitations. The sad thing about money is that no matter how much of it we have, we will still encounter problems which no amount of money can solve. That is something many people do not know. Money cannot solve all problems.
There is a saying that money rules the world. Somehow, that is true. With money, we can do a lot of things and rule over people if we are power drunk. However, there are many things money can never do for man. I will give few examples to prove that.
Money can give you a high place in the society, even in the church. It can make people see you as their god. However, money cannot buy you peace and joy.
If you are sick, money can send you to the best hospitals in the world, but it can never cure your sickness. Healing comes from the Lord. No amount of money can pay for it.
The Bible tells us of a woman who had an issue of blood for twelve years. She had money alright. With it, she paid many doctors for treatment. They did their best for her. However, the ailment prevailed until she had no money left to pay for more treatment. At last, it was the supernatural power of God through our Lord Jesus Christ that healed her. Below is the story.
“And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.( Mark 5: 25-29)
The story above is a clear example of the limited power of money. Note that the woman had enough money to pay doctors, and she did. However, they failed to help her despite taking her money. If money could solve all her problems, the doctors who took her money would have healed her. But that was not the case. Money could not buy her good health. Yes, money failed her as far as her health was concerned. It took the power of God to restore her health.
Money can give us access to the best treatment through the best doctors in the best hospitals. However, money cannot heal us. Healing comes from God.
Money cannot buy God’s gift (The Holy Spirit) which He gives freely to those who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and believe in His person as the only begotten Son of God. A certain man in the Bible offered money to the Apostles to buy the Holy Spirit. Let us see how it ended.
“Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost..”(Acts 8: 17-19)
Simon was a magician who deceived people with sorcery. His followers saw him as a man of God with great anointing. But he was an impostor. His deceit ended when Philip entered his territory with the true power of God. After realizing that his time was up, Simon feigned repentance and got baptized in water like others. He did so because he wanted the power of God to make money like he did with magic. Unfortunately for him, the Holy Spirit exposed him and he got seriously rebuked by Apostle Peter. Let us see what Peter told Simon when he offered the power of God with money.
“But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.(Acts 8:20-23)
According to the scripture above, Peter’s rebuke revealed the heart of the magician and the uselessness of his money. Simon himself realized he was in danger and money could not help him out. Quickly, he pleaded with Peter to ask the Lord to forgive him.
“Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.”(Acts 8:20-24)
The above story tells us that indeed, money cannot give us everything. Simon had money, but it did not buy the Holy Spirit for him. Instead, his desire to get God’s power with money almost ruined him. This means that as good as money is, money can equally be a curse. That is why the Bible tells us that money is the root of all evil and that those who want money by all means will fall into the trap of the enemy.
“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10)
Truth be told, because of money, many people have fallen into the enemy’s trap. They shed innocent blood to make money. They rob and kill for money. people kidnap others and demand ransom. Others are harvesting human heart, liver and kidney to sell. I watched a movie where young people were kidnapped and taken to a hospital where a group of doctors removed important organs from their body and sold same to the rich and powerful in the society. Because of the love of money, a doctor whose job is to save lives becomes a destroyer of life. That is what greed for money can make people do.
Many people are scamming others because of the love of money.
Many sisters sell their bodies in order to make money and live large.
Politicians will destroy millions of helpless people to gain and remain in power. The love of money has driven many people into devilish projects.
Our Lord Jesus asked: “What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and loose his soul in hell? In other words, “what use is our quest for money if it finally robs us of eternal life?
Truth be told, money is good, however, it is not worth the evil men do to make it. Lives are wasted everyday because of money. People should realize that despite how rich we are, money will never give us a place in heaven. Never allow the love of money to lead you into sin. Bear in mind that money cannot give anyone eternal life.
Source: “Truth be told (TBT) series”
Author: Apostle Frank B. Ogbu
Head Pastor/Overseer
Champion Grace Eternal Ministries
Ayikai Doblo, Amasaman
Accra, Ghana
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Email: @apostlefrank01@gmail.com
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